A lot of the names on this list could fill various roles. I would advocate for keeping Michelle on as top Admin Expert, she really does her job VERY well. That office falls apart without her. I think everyone else should go with Charlie, no strings left hanging. I am excited to see who will step up and run. Rich and Jan would have my full support if they ran, and my full committment to help them in any way I can.

Best of luck to Charlie Webster. Whoever takes on recruiting would be wise to get Charlie's advice.

I have worked with both Rich Cebra and Jan Love. While both would be top notch and could do a great job, I think Jan has the ability to organize the party and be a really good spokesman for the party. A Jan Love and Rich Cebra team would be unstoppable. Rich as a party whip would be great.

Mike L.
In so many ways why would he want to! If one listens the people who put him in are the ones who have been most critical of party
and those in legislature sure seem to have had a different agenda.
Look let's first really step back and look at two years ago.
The election of LePage was a political anomaly and while together the legislative advances were almost a separate or parallel occurrence
thing not one and the same thing as so many believe.
The best evidence of this has been the relative silence from the govs. office this cycle.
Everyone is talking Cebra but I ask this,how many of the get along budgets did he vote for?
I think new blood not from past legislative experience is the way to go.

Ugentoo....actually is spot on. Republicans in this state tend to recycle candidates and then put in campaign managers who have never won.....it's time to change that. The next leader of the Maine GOP needs to be able to bring new blood to the party with any hope of winning. That leaves Jan Love out for the first one. (Sorry Ryan, I've seen her in action enough and I am not impressed) Cebra, he just may be a good fit if he could put together a staff to reach the young voter. Ryan McCabe, that could be you I'm talking about. Poliquin has impressed me. He's new enough and has the ability to attract youth and I also believe earn the support of the the different factions. Summers, time to go to the private sector....Courtney and Raye are great guys...but it's time to change the guard. I'm not familiar enough with either of the David's....I'll toss Beth O'Connor into the mix. Beth has the ability to relate to all the groups within the party. If we continue to do the same thing and expect different results......well, I hope you know the rest of the saying.

First, you know I completely disagree with you on your assessment of Jan. I do not want to turn this into a pissing match or a revisit of Dean's campaign, so I am okay with agreeing to disagree with you on that one. Fair enough for you?

Second, you are exactly right about the staff that needs to be put together. I REALLY want to see a Technology Director in this next administration. I would also like to see part time Field Directors in both districts from day 1 of 2013. Their only 2013 goal would be to compile a list of target voters for the 2014 election. A fundraising director would be a nice addition. Someone who could take the burden off the chairman to raise money. Pay this person on a commission, just like most campaigns do. I know these things cost money, but looking at the reports, it seems there is enough to afford a few of these things. I bet you could get TWO excellent Field Directors and a Technology Director for 85-90k. If you have a dedicated Fund. Director on staff, then that cost is easily recouped through your added cash flow. The money will be there, our current President will help us raise the money.

He is a self-proclaimed EXPERT on all things Republican, with a constant stream of criticism to every campaign on every tactic and decision... from major policy work to the color of the campaign buttons and choice of e-mail addresses!

Maine Republicans have the rare opportunity here to select a Perfect Man, who knows ALL and will do everything right, 100% of the time!

So you make sure YOUR name is there, Big Fella, and I'll support you all the way!

For goodness sake, can we please NOT turn this into the 2008 thread on the next GOP Chairman?

Let's focus on the idea of bringing someone in to lead the party and the support staff that he or she will surround themselves with. That would be a productive conversation. Let's be bold and use this thread to populate our party with ideas and names.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to improve the structure of the Maine GOP?

Mike, of course he should. From the time Gov. LePage took office he was the face of the Maine GOP. This next Chair is going to have to work closely with Gov. LePage's administration in his reelection bid in 2014. We cannot continue to have this "double-work" mentality within our campaign structures.

In 2014 we will have a Gubernatorial Election, a US Senate election, two US House elections, and all of our legislative races for the Maine House and Senate.

Senator Collins intentions weigh in on this too. If she will seek reelection, then she needs to have input into the next chair as well.

The Governor should be front & center in this decision. Maine's hope for Fiscal Sanity hangs by a thread because of this week's elections, and if Paul LePage is not re-elected we'll see taxes higher than before, regulations in exponential growth mode and hacks like Dale McCormick BACK in some capacity throughout state government.

OF COURSE Paul LePage has to be involved with such an important decision. I may go as far as suggesting the position should be HIS to recommend, with the vote being more of an "Advise and Consent" situation.

Over the last few decades we have had party chairs who were simply disengaged and saw their roles as moderators for state committee meetings much like the moderator at town meetings. We have had chairs who were extremely secretive and ran the party into debt without helping candidates in any way. We have had chairs who discouraged conservatives from running and recruiting chairmen who worked diligently to recruit compliant moderates. All of these things contributed to making Republicans the minority for 40 years.

Finally the grass roots asserted themselves and we elected Paul LePage and sent majorities to both houses. However, the legislators had forgotten how to govern in the legislature. They still followed the model of trying to please the Democrats. It permitted the big spenders to get back in. Some in the grass roots are disgusted. Stand strong. Stay involved. If we let the old losing establishment to seat another figurehead as chair it will be more difficult to regain a majority. The old establishment often referred to the "big tent". That tent leaned only one way for 40 years. We need somebody to straighten up that tent, be civil to the remaining old guard and work to recruit candidates who support our platform. That's what will bring the disgusted voters back.

Someone mentioned Beth O'Connor.
I would love to see Beth as the head of the party!
She embraces the platform, she speaks well, she has great enthusiasm for liberty, etc.
I think she's a prefect bridge between establishment GOP and the new blood we need (call it the Ron Paul faction if you will).

Mike L.
serious question: Which party? ( we still as of yet not appear to have one) And if there is at least some even secret indication he will run again. That is never been a clear issue has it.
Given a cohesive group(party) (at least we won''t have a presidential mess to deal with) and a desire to run again yes he should have some influence.
The party should also have a firm commitment to reelect him.

p.s. Elimnate anyone who has worked in an office in DC not elected to that job!

Nearly 20 years ago the Second District Caucus interviewed all three candidates for Party Chair. The candidates were David Peterson, Jim Donnelly and Kathy Watson. Neither David Peterson nor Jim Donnelly would agree to put any conservatives on the executive committee, At the time such a request was horrifying to the establishment. Kathy Watson agreed to give seats at the table to some conservatives and to put some people from the Second District on the executive committee.

At the time there were thirteen people on the executive committee and eleven of them were from Cumberland County. We voted as a bloc. Kathy was in first place and the candidate garnering the fewest votes was dropped. On the second ballot Kathy was elected. To her credit, she put eight members from the second District on the executive committee, three from around the First District and two from Cumberland Country. It made us smile. Politics should not be a crap shoot. It should be the result of careful planning and effective strategies.

When we headed up the road from Hallowell I used to follow Kathy up the road as far as the Palmyra exit to make sure she made it. We had some awful weather back then. I used to meet Doc Birwell, Aroostook County Chair and Skip Colson, Washington County Chair at Dysarts on the way down. We always sat on opposite sides around the room and back when Kevin Keough was chair we tag teamed him. He liked to be a moderator like at a town meeting and didn't deal well with new or conservative ideas. He sold his radio stations and I have not seen him since. Doc, Skip and I are all Navy veterans. We thrive on high stress situations.

Beth is principled, intelligent and articulate---in short an excellent representative of the party of working people. This, by the way, is why Charlie Webster chose her as one of the candidates to address the 2010 convention.

A sharp and useful contrast to the lofty Portland lawyer who leads the party of government.

I'll take jmccards offers as being coherent, just because he has been as fair-minded to many sides as I have read here, and it is a coalition. Those within the party decide, those of us on the outside will decide, us GOP registered voters, whether you decided correctly at a later date. We really do wish us the best, regardless of the needles.